


May Nanalo Na!

by ziraulo



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Filipino Keith, Light Angst, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Season/Series 01, Team Bonding, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22315549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziraulo/pseuds/ziraulo
Summary: An impromptu singing contest brings back memories.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	May Nanalo Na!

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written for the [Kasama Zine!](https://twitter.com/Ph_Keith_zine) If you bought a copy or donated to our Ko-Fi, then I'd like to take this time to thank you for your support. This was my first time participating in a zine and I had so much fun with my fellow participants. Honestly I've had the Filipino Keith HC for the longest time, and I was so glad to be able to find people who felt the same!
> 
> The title translates to "We've got a winner!", and the song used in this fic is [Sundo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA1UvQKDbtY) by Imago. Translations are at the end notes.

Somehow, Shiro should have seen the karaoke contest coming a mile away.

It had been a stressful week; the Galra hadn't let up on them even once, but there was someone they managed to save for every encounter. One by one, the galaxy was being freed from Zarkon's influence, and team Voltron couldn't be happier. 

Today was one of the rare days off for the team. There were no midnight alarms blaring across the halls, no hurried dressing into their uniforms, and no brutal Altean training exercises meant for toughening them up. Today, they were granted a full night of sleep without being awakened for the sake of winning an intergalactic war, and that alone was worth celebrating.

And then Coran heard the word “celebration”, and promptly remembered an obscure Altean holiday that even Allura was skeptical of. It was here that the contest started. Coran mentioned a lover’s ballad about the doomed city of Oriande, and proceeded to sing it, even when his voice was unsuited for an aria.

Of course, Team Earth wasn't about to be one-upped by that performance. Hunk breaks out into song right after, starting a duet from one of those classic high school musicals. Lance joined him at the chorus, standing on the kitchen counter top, and boy, did things escalate from there.

Princess Allura sang a country tune favored by her mother, and Pidge followed with the theme song from some 90s sitcom, complete with miming the drum solo. From there, they cycled from pop songs to traditional hymns and even obscure video game theme songs. In turn, the Alteans countered them song for song. Finally, Coran brought out the big guns, playing the Altean Ocarina in accompaniment to Allura’s voice. 

“Hey, not fair! We don’t have Earth instruments here.” Lance protested. 

Coran twirled his mustache smugly. “Well, it seems we Alteans truly are the most musical souls in the galaxy then.”

“Not so fast, we have our own secret weapon.” Hunk said. His statement was followed by a not-so-subtle nudge at Keith, who had been sitting quietly since the last Earth musical number. 

“...Why are you guys looking at me like that?” He asked Hunk and Pidge. The pair’s begging looks did not waver. 

“Oh, nothing. Just, you know, wondering when you’ll be breaking out your special talent of singing in a foreign language so we can regain the honor of our planet in Space Karaoke.” Hunk replied. 

The point finally sunk in, and Keith’s expression begins to resemble a dead fish, bugged out eyes and slack jawed and all. “Oh no,” He backed away slowly. “I’m not doing that.”

Shiro perked up. Keith was going to sing? Come to think of it, he hadn’t done that in a while. Last he did, it was back in his house on Earth, with Shiro’s head on his lap. He didn’t know the song, but it was a good reminder that he was home now, and no longer a prisoner of the Galra. 

He had such fond memories of it too: that was how they both learned Filipino. Keith’s father left him some old CDs, from way back in the early 2000s, and one day they were curious enough to look up the translations. They ended up learning entire songs on the guitar, practicing by the campfire in the times they snuck off to race in the canyons beyond the Garrison

Fond memories or not, Keith seemed uncomfortable singing to a crowd. Shiro was about to raise a reprimand when Lance grinned.

He turned to Keith and said, “Why? You scared? I mean, we can’t blame you; it’s not like you can match the voices of all the lovely people out here,” He made a sweeping gesture at himself and at the others. 

For a moment, Shiro thought this was going to end in another argument. But Keith wasn’t rising to the bait, and now the rest have taken it to themselves to help. They chanted for him to sing, and his only response was to look lost. The fact that he didn’t look like he was moments from standing up and walking out of the door was already a miracle. And then he turned that lost look on Shiro, and he realized, “Oh, he’s asking me.”

“If you want to, why not?” Shiro said. “I’ll could even sing with you, if you want.”

A tense moment followed, and then Keith smirked. “I don’t think you’d know the lyrics on this one, old man.”

Shiro laughed. “Try me.” 

Cheers erupted from Team Earth, and at this point, even the Alteans seemed intrigued. 

“Alright, let’s get the space guitar!” Lance cheered, and he and Pidge took off to do just that.

In the span of a few short minutes, they managed to find the instrument and place it in Keith’s hands. It was definitely guitar-shaped, size and strings and all, but looked like it was made from terribly fragile faceted glass. Alura exclaimed its actual name, but he didn’t manage to catch it, lost Pidge’s explanation regarding how it was made and Coran’s explanation of how it came into his family’s possession. 

Keith’s test strums got their attention, and the Paladins marveled at how similar it sounded to an Earth guitar. Even Princess Allura was leaning forward in her interest at seeing the events unfold. The only one with a different expression was Coran, who looked like the strumming offended his great-great-grandmother, the original owner of the instrument. 

_“Kay tagal kong sinusuyod ang buong mundo [1],”_ Keith began, and the next line was nearly drowned by the cheering. This was starting to be less of a contest and more of a bonding moment, and it warmed Shiro’s heart to be there to witness it. Even better was seeing Keith’s confidence grow with every line that left his lips. Shiro found himself lost in the warm and gentle tone of his voice, sounding like the song was being dedicated to the most precious person in the universe. 

The chorus comes in, and _finally_ , something jogs Shiro’s memory. _“Asahan mo, mula ngayon, pag-ibig ko’y sa’yo [2],”_

He sang softly, unsure of the lyrics and even more unsure of how he sounded. Keith stuttered the next line and fumbled a chord before getting back on track. Shiro doesn’t take the spotlight from Keith, but he sings the chorus along with him, stopping in the second verse and only joining in the chorus. 

When the song was over, the first thing they heard was a dreamy sigh from crowd, and Shiro finds Coran clutching a handkerchief over his heart. The others weren’t in much of a different state.

That’s right, Shiro thought. There was no such thing as a language barrier in the Castle of Lions, especially not with the translators in their comms. Barring terms with no universal translation, it was possible to understand anyone inside. It was how they solved the judging for the contest in the first place.

“Shiro, Keith, that was beautiful!” Allura beamed at them.

“Yeah,” Pidge replied. “It felt a bit sad, though? Where’d you hear from?”

There was something sad about it, alright, but not in the way they’d expect. “I…” Keith trailed off. “I think this was a song my dad used to sing to my mom.” 

A hush fell over the room. Keith may not have been close with anyone in his batch of cadets, but the fact that he was an orphan was common knowledge. No one was sure how to proceed, until Hunk spoke up. 

“How’d you know for sure?” He asked gently. 

Keith closed his eyes. “The first time I snuck out of the Garrison, I went back home.” He paused to collect himself. “I stayed there digging through my dad’s old stuff, and then I found a CD with this song.”

Shiro remembered that; he followed Keith out in the desert that day to make sure he was safe. The CD was plain, in a case without a cover but amongst the band CDs. The only indicator of its identity were the words _“Para kay Mahal [3]”_ written on the surface in black marker. 

“It had my dad singing songs he grew up to before his family moved to America. I didn’t know it then, but it was full of love songs for my mom.” He said. “And then at the end, I hear her say his name.” 

Keith struggled to speak, and tears started to form at the corners of his eyes. “It’s the only memory I have of her, and I thought this was _years_ before I was even born and then dad said my name and--”

Shiro gathered Keith securely in his arms, and when his tears turn to full blown sobs, the rest follow in. More tears are shed, and soon their karaoke contest was forgotten in favor of comforting a friend.

Fittingly, Keith is the first to recover. “Wow, look at me, crying in front of a group of people. Probably ruined the loner look, huh?”

“We’re your friends, Keith.” That last word felt heavy on Shiro’s tongue, like it wasn’t quite what he was looking for. He shoved the thought to the back of his mind. This was a moment for Keith, not for him. “What kind of friends would we be if you couldn’t lean on us in times like this?” 

Keith looked up at him, purple eyes shining, and suddenly Shiro realized just how close the two of them are. The others have backed away by now, but he has Keith on his lap, with an arm around his waist for support. The sound of his heartbeat grew louder in his ears the longer Keith stayed, and this looked bad in front of the rest, didn’t it?

They broke eye contact just in time for the devious grins on their friends’ faces to retreat. “Thanks a lot guys.” Keith smiled, and oh, it’s simply brilliant. 

Shiro felt his face burning hot when Keith turned back to him, and god, please let something salvage his reputation as the fearless, unflappable leader. He cleared his throat. “So, how’s the score?” He asked. 

And just like that, they were back in the competition. He highly doubted that anyone can top Keith’s heartfelt performance, but that won’t stop anyone from trying. 

Besides, it didn’t matter what the real score was. He’s free of the Galra, he’s leading a team in piloting a pride of space lion robots, and he got to sing with Keith. At this point, Shiro thinks he already won.

**Author's Note:**

> 11 Translation: I've searched for you (for so long) [return to text]
> 
> 22 Translation: From this day on, my love is yours [return to text]
> 
> 33 Translation: For my darling; lit. for my love [return to text]
> 
> Come yell at me on Twitter [@AngInangReyna](https://twitter.com/AngInangReyna) or Tumblr at ziraulo!


End file.
